Description
Book SynopsisOn Site: Methods for Site-Specific Performance Creation is a practical book for artists and students at all levels who create or are learning to create making sited dance works. Author Stephan Koplowitz covers specific, hands-on strategies for an array of issues to consider before, during, and after embarking upon a project, including site selection, procuring permits, designing the audience experience, researching and exploring a site for inspiration and content, differences in urban and natural environments, definitions of key production roles, building effective collaborations with artists, and techniques to generate site-inspired production elements such as sound/music, costumes, lighting, and media. He also offers helpful chapters on project budgeting, contract negotiation, fundraising, marketing, documentation, and assessment. Based on the author''s career spanning over 30 years of site-specific creation, the book also includes the voices of over 24 other artists, producers, and writers who share their perspectives and experiences on the many topics covered. A guide designed to make site work practical, intentional, and attainable, On Site will become a well-worn reference for anyone interested in the creative process and discovering the power of site-specific works.
Trade ReviewIn this comprehensive, wonderfully organized volume, ... shares his extensive knowledge of a multi-faceted genre, and he does so with elegant logic, along with a spirit of generosity and care. * Ann Murphy, Wendy Perron *
On Site is no dry or abstruse tome. It's an homage, first and foremost, to performance in non-traditional spaces, and it is a stunning template that takes the reader step by step through the processes, beginning wide—with site visits—to constructing structures, gathering partners, participants, pr, money, budgets, tech, costumes, documentation and, at the end, designing and making assessments....And on a practical note, On Site is a good reason, if one is needed, for educators to build a class around creating site-specific work. It could even invite collaboration across disciplines, perhaps outside the arts. * Ann Murphy, Notable Dance Books *
The definitive new textbook on site-based work. He meticulously covers the logistics and artistic mindset needed for site-specific projects. Koplowitz lovingly shares his process from decades in the field, including staging large-scale site-specific works around the globe. * Jill Randall, Dance Teacher *
With the range of voices and approaches he discusses, Koplowitz is able to touch on the numerous ideas and creative practices involved in the form and utilize his extensive knowledge and experience. * Laura Stein, thINKingDance.net *
Among a wealth of practical advice for site work creation are Koplowitz's stimulating ideas for site selection and designing events for them, researching site histories and communities, and collaborations with associate artists. * Jonathan Stein, thINKingDance.net *
Koplowitz's On Site is a fantastic book for seasoned veterans, novice collaborators, and all those in between. Call the book an encyclopedic how-to textbook; call it a thoughtful methodological study; call it a thorough guidebook; call it a template. It qualifies as any or all of those. Organized in seven parts, the 19 chapters are marked by Koplowitz's candid, clear prose, which communicates the confidence and the humility one would expect from an artist with more than three decades of experience on which to draw...This excellent volume will be an invaluable tool for those interested in the vast stage, film, and site repertoire Koplowitz has amassed during his career. * Choice *
On Site well poised to become a foundational practical text for future site-specific choreographers and directors. It offers concise information on potential pitfalls and ethical considerations for the artist. In addition, Koplowitz includes many philosophical and thoughtful asides on important contemporary subjects such as land use in colonized Indigenous territory, capacious notions of accessibility, and reflections on the democratizing and politically engaged effects of site work. * KT Shorb, Theatre Topics *
On Site is an invaluable resource to artists wishing to round out their practice of site-specific work, to educators wanting to impart these skills to their students, and to scholars wishing to investigate further the creative research and methods required in engaging in site specificity. * KT Shorb (They/Them), Macalester College *
Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: Motivations and Definitions 1. How Do We Start? Chapter 1 What Motivates Site Selection Chapter 2 Permissions, Permits and Insurance Chapter 3 Designing the Event, Staging the Audience Chapter 4 The Site as Inspiration for Your Work 3. Fueling Your Vision Chapter 5 Staffing Key Production Roles Chapter 6 Negotiating Fee and Contract Chapter 7 Planning Your Planning Budget Chapter 8 Fundraising for Your Artistic Plan: A Short Primer 4. Creating/Generating Content Chapter 9 Staging, Placing Your Work in a Site (one method) Chapter 10 Site Content and Process Chapter 11 Collaboration and Collaborative Elements 5. Creative and Production Challenges Chapter 12 Rehearsal Process Chapter 13 Rehearsal Safety Chapter 14 Creating for Physically Integrated Casts and Accessibility 6. More Challenges from the Real World Chapter 15 Working with a Set Budget after Fundraising Chapter 16 Promoting and Marketing the Work Chapter 17 Documentation Chapter 18 Assessment 7. Epilogue Chapter 19 Last, Last Thoughts Appendix Acknowledgements Index About the Author
